大象传媒

In 1942 I became a dispatch rider with the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service), delivering top secret orders from Brigade HQ. I was posted to 169 Rgt stationed at Eccles, Manchester, on a dummy gun sight where the guns pointed skywards. They were made of plywood but I think they had the desired effect.

In October 1943 we were posted to Kent as a complete unit (minus the dummy guns) - things got a bit hotter there. We had a few visits from the Germans, but thankfully our gun sights were equipped with the real thing and they had a few hits. The ATS girls on duty on the guns were very brave and did a wonderful job. I used to see them when I was delivering my dispatches. We had to use passwords even in those days.

Then came the build up to D-Day. We were billeted on an estate in the heart of the Kent countryside, so we saw a lot of activity.

With the doodlebugs you couldn't get a good night's sleep - what a noise those guns made. I don't know how the gunners coped with it - they just had to, like the rest of us I suppose. After the doodlebugs became obsolete we were moved to New Brighton on Merseyside and all became quiet. Then our unit was disbanded and we went to different postings - I went to a barracks in London. After VJ Day I was demobbed.

I still think a lot about my time in the army. Although I have lost touch with all my old comrades I remember them all and wish them well.

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